After a brief hiatus from playoff hockey in the nation’s capitol, the Washington Capitals squeaked their way into the 2024 postseason festivities; earning a match-up with the President’s Trophy winning New York Rangers in the first round. Although the gap in standings points was quite considerable (the Rangers finished with 114 points, the Caps with 91), the two squads split the season series 2-2-0, with each team scoring nine goals in those four games. This series could be a lot closer than most folks expect, but spoiler alert: the underlying metrics don’t exactly show the Caps as a team tha ..read more

Photo: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images The first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs could be the best in a while as it features three Eastern Conference rivalries, a rematch of the Western Conference Final from last spring, and two Central Division heavy weights getting in the ring in a best-of-seven series. After previewing the Washington Capitals’ series against the New York Rangers (here), NoVa Caps examines the other seven series with the postseason starting on Saturday. EASTERN CONFERENCE Metropolitan #2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. Metropolitan #3 New York Islanders Regular-season leaders ..read more

Photo: LoHud The NHL released the full schedule for the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs overnight on Friday after it was determined that the Vegas Golden Knights will play the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings will go at it with the Edmonton Oilers. The Washington Capitals will host Games 3 and 4 against the New York Rangers on Friday at 7 PM ET and Sunday at 8 PM ET. There will be two instances where Washington and New York will have an extra day off between games: Games 2 and 3, and 4 and 5. A limited number of individual game tickets for all possible home games of the First R ..read more

Photo: NHL.com Do you want a shot at getting two tickets to a 2024-25 NHL Event worth $5,000 or $1,000 to spend at NHLShop.com? Well, here’s your chance. Join NoVa Caps’ NHL Bracket Challenge League for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. There are no limits on how many people can join, but you must have an NHL.com account to be eligible to enter a bracket. (link to join: here). Brackets are not open to fill out yet but you can join the league at any time. The tournament is set to begin on Saturday afternoon and the matchups will be finalized after Thursday night’s NHL schedule. Be sure to follow u ..read more

Photo: Winnipeg Free Press The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 10th time ever but first in nine seasons, when New York won Game 7 of the second round in overtime. New York has won six of the series and Washington last beat them in the postseason in 2011, a five-game victory in the first round. Game 1 from Madison Square Garden will be on Sunday afternoon (3 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network locally, ESPN nationally) but the full series schedule has yet to be announced. HOW THEY GOT HERE New York: 55-23-4 regular season (first in Eastern Con ..read more

Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports The Washington Capitals will face the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series is reportedly set to open at Madison Square Garden at 3 PM ET on Sunday but a full schedule has yet to be released. New York went 55-23-4 (.695 points percentage) in their first season under head coach Peter Laviolette, who parted ways with Washington last year after spending three seasons behind their bench. Washington snuck into the postseason after going 40-31-11 (.573) during Spencer Carbery’s first season as a ..read more

Photo: X/@Capitals The Washington Capitals downed the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The victory gives the Capitals a record of 40-31-11 (91 points) for the 2023-24 regular season and a berth in the 2024 postseason. The Capitals opened the scoring on a deflected shot by captain Alex Ovechkin late in the first frame for the game’s first lead and a 1-o advantage at the first intermission. The Flyers tied the game just past the midway point of the middle frame on Erik Johnson’s fifth goal of the season for a 1-1 tie at the second intermission. T ..read more

Photo: DeadSpin The Washington Capitals can clinch the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with any kind of win over the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday (7 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, EPSN+ out-of-market) in both teams’ regular-season finale. Washington has earned three of a possible four points against Philadelphia this season, including a 5-2 win in the District on March 1. Schedule Washington: finishes set of back-to-backs after a 2-0 win over Boston Bruins on Monday, stretch where they play three games in four nights to close out regular se ..read more

Photo by John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images The Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins by a score of 2-0 on Monday night in their final home game of the 2023-24 regular-season. The win lifted Washington, who could clinch the second-wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a win at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, to 39-31-11 (.549 points percentage) this season. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 16 saves in his sixth shutout of the year, including second against Boston. Washington’s Lines Alex Ovechkin — Connor McMichael — T.J. Oshie Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson Max ..read more

Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports The Washington Capitals will end their regular-season series against the Boston Bruins on Monday at Capital One Arena (7 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network locally, NHL Network nationally). Washington is 3-2-1 (.583 points percentage) in their last six games against Boston, including a 3-0 shutout win at TD Garden on February 10 and a 3-2 shootout loss in the District 15 days ago. Schedule Boston: ends two-game Metropolitan Division road trip after a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday in their first game in four days, rings out regular season vs ..read more